Project Background

Glengarnock Castle is just 2 miles from the town of Kilbirne, and only 22 miles from the city of Glasgow. Perched on a narrow outcrop overlooking the River Garnock, the site has incredible views over the surrounding landscape, and is naturally defended by a brawling stream that rushes through a rocky ravine over eighty feet below.

In 1839, this impressive three-storey castle was struck by a huge storm. Today, only half the Keep, a central courtyard, and a vaulted chamber remain standing; the rest lies buried below ground.

We know that Barony of Glengarnock was established between the 12th and 14th centuries. We also know that most of the upstanding ruins were probably constructed around 1450, when a huge feud was brewing between two opposing clans; the Cunninghames who controlled Glengarnock, and the Montgomories – their rivals. But the full story of this castle remains unknown.

The recent discovery of an ancient sword pommel, along with other artefacts dating back to this earlier period, suggest that there is a much older story to be discovered here.

Did fortifications exist up here prior to the Cunninghames? Could the castle’s true origins extend as far back as the 12th and 13th centuries, when the land was held by the De Morville family, who founded an abbey a few miles down the river at Kilwinning?

Sources pre-dating the storm also describe a long passage from the entrance with a range of two-storied apartments on each side, a hall, narrow circular stair, a parapet wall, and even a dry moat with a drawbridge. Are these what lies buried around the ruins? Or will we find something else that tells a different part of the story?

In partnership with Garnock Connections, we set out to find out more about the castle’s history, and find out what happened before it fell into ruin, and was destroyed by the storm.

Our work so far

In 2021, DigVentures and Garnock Connections organised a ‘test dig’ to determine the extent of the ruins using a combination of excavation, aerial photography, geophysics, and historic building survey techniques. Our goal was to assess whether this site might yield the kind of answers we were looking for, if we came back with a bigger team.

Historic Building Survey revealed that the upstanding remains consisted of six different fabric types, each from a different phase of construction. Excavation revealed buried walls, 15th century pottery, and even lead pistol shot which had been fired, either in hunting or combat. Geophysics revealed several areas of potential interest which we think are well worth coming back to explore…